Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Mercer County, Ohio, has about 43,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Mercer County is held at the county jail, run by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Mercer County public records, Mercer County arrest records, Mercer County warrants, Mercer County criminal records, Mercer County court records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Mercer County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Mercer County is held at the county jail, run by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Mercer County Sheriff's Office at inmate.mercercountysheriffohio.gov (page title: Mercer County Sheriff's Office Jail Inmate Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Mercer County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 67 people, down from about 72 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 104 beds, and it ran at 69 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Mercer County has about 43,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 16 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Mercer County Jail
The Mercer County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Celina, Coldwater, St. Henry, Fort Recovery and Rockford make the arrests that end in a booking in Mercer County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Celina's 163 for 2025, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office's 68 for 2025 and Coldwater's 29 for 2024.
Together, the three agencies in Mercer County with all twelve months of 2022 on file reported 97 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Mercer County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction lists its inmates at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Mercer County?
Look on the custody page of the Mercer County Sheriff's Office at inmate.mercercountysheriffohio.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Mercer County jail?
About 67 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 104 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Mercer County go?
To a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; its inmate locator is at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
Is this the official Mercer County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.